Love and Snowflakes
by iloveromance
Summary: Christmas Day brings miracles and happiness to Daphne when the most unexpected things happen in the most wonderful ways. The third installment of a trilogy that continues "I Believe" and "Tis the Season" taking place in and inspired by the 1994 movie "Miracle On 34th Street."
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I really didn't mean for "I Believe" to turn into a trilogy, nor did I even expect to write more than one story, but once I wrote "Tis The Season", I found that I wanted to continue so here it is, the third installment of a Christmas fantasy involving Niles and Daphne. And as before, "Love and Snowflakes" begins where "Tis the Season" ends. **_

Tears splashed onto the page where the words in gold letters stared at her;

**P.S. I'm so happy that you received my gift on Christmas Eve and I'm glad that you found your way to Rockefeller Center on your own. I know that you and Niles will be very happy together. I can guarantee that you'll see him soon, but in answer to your question, as you were staring out your window thinking about him, he was staring out of his window, thinking of you too.**

Since they'd said goodnight at her front door and the taxi sped away, Daphne could think of nothing else, could think of no one else, except for the man she loved. Niles was everything she ever wanted,

even before she knew exactly what she wanted. He was sweet, kind, loving and most of all, he believed in her. No one else had ever done those things and she knew that she didn't deserve any of it.

She'd made peace with herself over the turmoil she'd caused, interrogating the most beloved figure of all; Kris Kringle. He'd gone through the worst possible things because of her, including a stay at Bellevue Hospital, which put his integrity to the test. And she was there to witness all of it, knowing that she was the one to blame. It was with shame and regret that brought her to Rockefeller Center where as fate would have it, Niles came into her life.

She glanced at the note again as the words stood out on the page "… my gift…" But that was impossible. How could she, how could anyone deserve such a wonderful gift? Her fingers touched the base of her throat where the heart-shaped gold and diamond necklace lay and she vowed that she would never take it off. For when it was around her neck, she felt him close to her heart.

He said he would call, but she'd heard that before; many times in fact, from men who played with her emotions. But Niles was different. He loved her, she was sure of it. What other reason could there be for his generosity and kindness, the way he made her feel so special and loved?

But now she couldn't help but wonder how long her happiness would last and if she would ever see the man she loved so deeply again. Wiping away the tears, she decided to try and make the best out of what was beginning to be a very lonely Christmas.


	2. Chapter 2

She was halfway through a commercial-filled viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life" when there was a knock on the door. Irritated, she rose from the sofa. Most likely it was her annoying neighbor, complaining about the volume of her television set again. The man must have had extremely sensitive hearing since Daphne never turned her television set louder than the recommended factory set volumes. There was no need to, when she was the only one who was listening. The harsh reminder brought threatening tears and once again she pushed the tears away.

The knocking continued, louder this time and she crossed the room, thrusting the door open. But it wasn't her neighbor at all. Her hand flew to her mouth and tears spilled from her eyes. "Niles…"

"I'm sorry to bother you like this, Daphne but I couldn't let Christmas Day go by without-."

Her mouth was on his, kissing him repeatedly with a passion that she didn't know existed. His mouth was sweet and warm and she kissed him until she could barely breathe, unable to take her lips off of his. She could feel his hands on her cheeks and heard the soft thud of something hitting the floor. And still she couldn't pull herself away.

"Daphne…"

When finally they parted, trying to catch their breath, she stared into his beautiful eyes and fell softly into his arms. "I thought… I thought I'd never see you again. I thought…"

"I could never be away from you, Daphne. I thought I'd go crazy last night without you." He said, kissing her once more.

"What's that?" she asked innocently, eying the gifts and bouquet of roses on the floor.  
He grinned shyly and picked up the flowers, handing them to her. "These are for you, my love."

She blushed, her heart warming at the sight. "Niles… You've already given me a gift; the most beautiful necklace I have ever seen."  
"I'm glad you like it, Sweetheart and I hope you like these gifts as well."

She took the beautifully wrapped boxes from him and carried them to the sofa. As they sat down, she slowly and carefully began to unwrap them.

"Niles, this is too much!" She said, unwrapping the third gift. She looked around at what he'd already given her; a pair of suede gloves, a beautiful wool scarf and a blanket in the softest robin's egg blue fleece she had never felt. And she couldn't help kissing him tenderly. "Thank you." "

"There's more." He said, gently pushing the unwrapped gifts toward her.

"Niles, this is..."  
"Nothing is too much for you, my love. I just wanted to show you how much I love you and how much I hated being away from you last night. "

She smiled and kissed him softly. "Then stay with me tonight… please? I need you. Please…"


	3. Chapter 3

His response was a soft kiss upon her lips and he unbuttoned his coat and took it off, revealing a beautiful navy suit adorned with a familiar blue tie; the one she had given him as a gift while they sat amid the snow in Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve. The sight of him made her sigh.

"You look so handsome." She whispered, running her fingers through his soft blonde hair.  
"Thank you, Daphne. And you look…"

She glanced at her appearance, her worn flannel robe and her slippers, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she touched her disheveled hair. "I look awful. I-."  
But her comment was interrupted with a kiss. "You look beautiful." He corrected.

Her cheeks warmed at his kind words. "Niles…"  
"I believe you have more gifts to open."

Several minutes later she'd opened every gift he'd brought and was now showered with perfume, bath products and almost everything she had ever wanted. She turned to him blinking back tears. "Thank you, Niles. I can't thank you enough, but-."  
"But what?"  
"I don't have anything for you. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Daphne. You don't-."  
"No, it's _not_ all right, Niles!" She said, louder than she meant to. "You brought me all of these beautiful gifts, and I-."  
"You gave me this beautiful tie, Daphne. And I love it. I'll cherish it always. And I have you. The best gift I could ever receive."

"But it's not enough Niles, it's…" She stopped suddenly glancing at the abundance of gifts under her tree. Thinking she was seeing things, she rose from the sofa and moved closer, her eyes widening at the sight.

A cluster of presents beckoned to her, each one bearing a gift tag. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief as she read the words that were written in her own handwriting:

_To Niles with Love from Daphne. _

How was it possible?

"Is something wrong, Daphne?"  
Holding a gift in her hand, she turned to face him. "Th-this is for you."

His expression change and his eyes sparkled. "Oh… thank you, Daphne. You didn't have to-."  
"I wanted to." She said quickly.

She watched in awe as he opened the gift, feeling a bit guilty that she had no idea what was inside. He looked into the unwrapped box with delight, but no one was more surprised than she as he removed the mysterious object; a handsome khaki colored cable knit sweater. "

_What on Earth…?_

"Daphne, this is wonderful, thank you."

Her smile was rewarded with a kiss and she handed him another gift. "And this…"  
He took the box and once again carefully unwrapped it, this time revealing a genuine leather briefcase. Subsequent gifts contained a leather wallet, clothes cufflinks and books. And when each one was opened (and even in between) he thanked her with sweet kisses.


	4. Chapter 4

"You still have a lot of gifts to open." He said, nodding at the pile of presents still left under the tree. As much as she loved receiving gifts, the thought of opening them all was daunting to say the least.

"But there are so many."

She was unaware that she'd spoken out loud until she felt his arms around her and his soft lips against her neck. "Somebody loves you." He whispered into her ear. "Someone named Kris. But he couldn't possibly love you more than I ."

She smiled and turned to find herself in his arms, rekindling the sweet kisses that had begun just moments before.

"I know it's not traditional…" She said when their lips parted. "But I think I'll wait to open these presents later."

Surprisingly his smile faded and he looked almost disappointed. "If that's what you want."  
"I will open, them, I promise. But right now I want to spend time with the man I love."

She moved to kiss him but he drew back. "Thank you, Daphne. And I love you too, but will you do me one favor?"  
"Of course, my darling." She said as her fingertips trailed across his smooth cheek. "I'll do anything for you."

He turned and reached into his coat pocket, producing a small box with a white ribbon. "Open this… please?"

She took the small box and slowly opened the ribbon. "Niles, another gift? You're spoiling-."  
She stopped short, gazing at the object in her hand; a red velvet box which held a sparkling diamond ring. "Niles…what…"

He rose from the sofa and took her hand, slowly lowering himself to one knee. His handsome face was blurred by her tears and she could hardly keep her lip from trembling.

"Daphne, my angel, on this Christmas night filled with love and snowflakes all around us, will you marry me?"  
"Oh Niles…"  
He chuckled at her expression and squeezed her hand. "Is that a _yes_?"

"I don't know what to say…" She replied. "H-how could you possibly want to marry me? We only met last night!"

He brought her hand to his lips and sighed deeply. "Because I love you, Daphne. I love you with my whole heart. I've never met anyone so kind and sweet, loving and caring before. You're an angel, Daphne; an absolute angel and there's no one else on earth that I'd want to spend the rest of my life with."  
She smiled through her tears, blissfully aware that he was brushing them away with his fingertips.

"I know it's sudden and I would never pressure you into anything so if you need time to think about it-."  
She moved toward him, kissing him again and again, sweet passionate kisses that neither of them wanted to end. But when their lips parted he gazed into her eyes running his fingers through her hair. "So does that mean…"

"Yes! Yes, I will marry you, Niles Crane." She said tearfully before showering him with kisses once more. "I love you."  
The kisses resumed as they fell against the back of the sofa and Daphne knew there was no possible way she could ever be happier than at that moment. And then she felt him take her hand and slide the beautiful ring onto her left ring finger, prompting her to kiss him once more.

Minutes later they were snuggled into each other's arms, gazing out the window at the falling snowflakes. "Would you like to watch a movie with me?" She asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

"That sounds wonderful, Daphne. What would you like to watch?"  
"Well it is Christmas. How about _It's a Wonderful Life_?"

He held her so close that she could feel his heart beating against hers. "It certainly is a wonderful life, Daphne."  
"Thank you, Thank you so much." She said softly when he kissed her cheek.  
"You're welcome, my love."

She smiled and snuggled into his arms. Although she could never thank Niles enough, the words weren't meant for him, but for the man who had forgiven her and made her dreams come true; Kris Kringle. He and Niles had outdone themselves by giving her so many gifts, more than she could possibly use.

She looked over at Niles, smiling when she noticed that he had fallen asleep in her arms, and she covered them both with her new blanket, sighing at the warmth while she watched the snow gently falling outside of her window. She hoped that someday she could convince him that she didn't need lavish gifts to make her happy.

She had everything she ever wanted right here; Love and Snowflakes.

**THE END**


End file.
